Please Don't Do It, Green
by Artimus-Maora
Summary: Green really decides to return the sword... with consequences.
1. Chapter 1

Short-ish story dealing with what might have happened if Green had put the sword back. I normally write with the Four Swords assuming they didn't put back the blade, but I was inspired by a friend to write a sadder ending. Note, this will NOT be a happy ending. Very light shipping if you look at it as such.

* * *

It was a very quiet day in the Link household. An extremely difficult decision had been made earlier that week, and truth be told, it was not a unanimous decision.

Green was going to put the Four Sword back.

None of them knew what would happen, and the argument about the choice had been going on for at least the past week. Were they too different from their original selves to even return to one person? Would they simply morph back into one? Just like they had all split from Green when he had drawn the blade, would they merge? What would happen to their personalities? Their memories? Their souls? Would they be trapped within Green's mind, and be unable to do anything but watch as he lived the rest of his life? Would they simply... vanish?

_"Green, you can't!" Red wailed, close to tears. "I don't want to die! We're so young!"_

_"It's not your choice to make, Green!" Blue snapped, hands clenched to angry fists. This was a new anger for him, though- anger mixed with fear. "No matter what happens when you put the blade back, _you'll_ be fine!"_

_"What if you guys get trapped in my head or something? You think I'd be able to just be A-okay having three extra people inside my head?"_

_"You think _we'd_ be okay being stuck like that, watching you live and unable to do a thing?! I'd rather die!"_

Green sighed, letting his head thud down onto the wooden kitchen table. His heart was heavy, but his choice wouldn't be swayed. Their adventure was done- it had been for a long time. They had no reason to keep the Four Sword now. All the heroes that had come before him had set a clear example- they returned their swords to their resting places at the close of their adventure, even though the threat was gone. Someday another hero would need it.

The weight of the choice was not lost on him- worst case, he _would_ have his personality split four ways forever. He might lost three parts of himself and never get them back. He might be overloaded with four memories of the same thing. He might, he might, he might, he might just lose his mind over this!

The single calm person in the household was Vio- he seemed to have accepted long ago that they would one day have to return the sword, and the outcome would be completely uncertain. He was sitting outside in the bright sunlight, his back towards the sun and his eyes shut. He looked peaceful, his palms flat on the ground beside him to connect him with his shadow. With a feeling of sadness, Green reflected that Vio probably did not fear death, if only for the reason that he'd had such a close brush with it when Shadow had passed away before them. He had practically died in Vio's arms. Much in the way he now had his hands connected to the patch of shade he cast, Green suspected that Vio had a connection with Shadow.

Perhaps Vio felt that he'd already experienced death once, and in the worst scenario- their demise- he would return to his friend. He envied the serenity that the other part of him had; _would he gain that when he returned the sword? Would he regain Vio's logic, Blue's strength, and Red's heart?_ The uncertainty was killing him.

He stood up, slowly trekking up the stairs and stopping at the top. From the room Red and Blue shared, he could hear soft crying- neither Blue nor Red were ready to accept their fate yet. Red had been in almost constant tears, and in an unusual turn of events, Blue seemed to have endless patience this time to comfort him. Was it because he was afraid for the exact same reason?

Walking past the cracked-open door to their room, Green caught sight of the scene transpiring inside. Red and Blue were both sitting on Red's bed, Red crying profusely into Blue's shoulder and Blue with an arm around him in attempted comfort. Green couldn't stand to watch (and also figured he might get killed if Blue looked up and saw him staring) so he continued on, stopping just past the doorway to listen to what they were saying.

It took a few minutes for Red to calm down past heart-wrenching sobs, clutching Blue's tunic tightly. "B-Blue... I don't wanna put the sword back..." He whimpered, sniffling. "I don't know what's gonna happen to us- what if we die?!"

"Shh, shh..." It wasn't easy for Blue to comfort him, seeing as he shared the exact same fears, but he was doing the best he could. "None of us know what's gonna happen. We might not die.."

"But you're scared too- I know you're afraid of what's gonna happen, and you're never scared!" Red protested with a wail.

"... Yeah, I'm scared." Blue admitted after a moment, sighing. "I'm scared and I'm mad. This isn't a big choice for him- _his_ life isn't on the line by this. He's not the one that has to worry about losing himself!" This outburst of frustration from Blue brought on a renewed bout of tears from Red, and the azure Link hastily dialed it back to not upset him. "Sorry.. I promised I wouldn't yell..."

"It's okay, I wanna yell too..." Red admitted in a small voice. Green heard shifting from within the room, assuming Blue adjusted his hold on Red so he could better cradle their sniffling counterpart. "... I keep having an awful thought."

"What is it? Wanna tell me?" It was an unsettling change to hear Blue's voice so soft and gentle- it was a sign of how bad things must have seemed to him, that he no longer cared about maintaining the 'tough guy' image.

"I kinda keep imagining that we... Well... What if we left?" Red blurted out. "All of us have to be there to put the sword back, what if you and I left? Just us, Blue! Vio would never agree to it, he's already given up, but what if?"

"I would go with you." Blue sighed deeply. "I don't wanna go through with this either... But you know we have to."

"Can't we pretend?" Red pleaded. "Can't we just... Imagine that we're not gonna do this? Just for a bit?"

"All right. What would you rather do? Where would you go?" The sound of blankets rustling- they must have laid back on the bed while they fantasized.

"I don't know- the world is so big."

"Would you stay in Hyrule?"

"I dunno- if it was safe to, I would." Red said slowly. "I love it here. But if I had to, I could leave- it would just have to be somewhere pretty."

"Pretty and warm- no ice." Blue insisted with a small chuckle. "I don't like ice."

"Okay, no ice or snow," Red agreed, giggling quietly. "Maybe somewhere like the forest or like Hyrule Field... Someplace nice. What job would you like to have?"

"I'd wanna be a knight, no question," Blue proclaimed, and Green didn't have to see him to know he was grinning. "Best knight of Hyrule- or wherever we go. Protecting royalty, saving the kingdom, all that stuff. You know, the usual hero business!"

Red giggled. "And I guess I'd just bake or something; maybe I could be a seamster, too..." He trailed off, sounding dreamy. "I'll leave the fighting up to you- I don't wanna do that forever!"

"And you wouldn't have to- I'd protect you from anything and everything!" Blue proclaimed grandly, and Green heard Red laugh; he assumed Blue had hugged him or something akin to that.

"Oh, my hero!" Red chuckled. "But, yeah- what do you think we'd do about.. families and stuff? Do you think you'd ever want to marry someone, if you had the chance?"

A short pause followed this. "Ah... I dunno. It'd have to be the right person," Blue eventually responded, thoughtful. "There's not many people I think I can stand for that long."

"I know I'd want to get married," Red admitted shyly. "I couldn't stand being alone for my whole life- I'd wanna grow old with somebody I really loved..." He trailed off, voice wavering. Of course he would never get the chance to grow old at all- not when they planned to return the blade tomorrow. Green slowly sank to the ground, heart heavy as he listened to the other two. He couldn't help but feel like this decision was wrong, even though he knew it was the right thing to do.

He tuned in again as he heard Blue speak softly. "When you put it like that, yeah- it doesn't sound fun being alone. I guess even I might settle down eventually."

"Whoever got you would be really lucky," Red sighed. "You're so brave, and strong, and fierce- but underneath it all, you're really just a big teddy bear!" A small bout of laughter from both of the Links within followed this, which led Green to believe that Red had hugged Blue tightly about the neck.

"Aw, cut it out! No m'not," Blue protested good-naturedly. "I have no idea who'd wanna spend the rest of their life dealing with my crap every day- out of the two of us here, there's no question that you'd be anyone's first choice to marry."

"Bluuuuuue, shush!" The tone of Red's voice suggested he was flustered by Blue's words, but it only prompted a laugh from the other Link.

"Nah- we both know it's true. You've got a big heart, which people love; a big smile-" There was laughter from Red here, and Green suspected Blue had teasingly poked him in the cheek, "- which is brighter than the sun itself; your face, which is redder than your name-"

"Bluuuuue!"

There was much snickering from the tough Link immediately following Red's flustered exclamation. "It's completely true, you know."

"My face is only bright red cuz of you, ya dummy!"

"Well, yeah, but everything else I said is true too- you want me to keep going on?"

"No, shush!" The next bout of snickering from Blue was slightly muffled- Red must have slapped his hand over Blue's mouth to quiet him. "You're being silly!"

"M'being truthful!" Blue protested again, still chuckling to himself. "Whoever ends up winning your heart is gonna be the luckiest person alive."

"Then aren't you a lucky guy?"

"Huh?"

Red giggled shyly. "You know you stole my heart ages ago." A slight pause where he seemed to be expecting Blue to say something, but the grouchy Link was dumbfounded. "I, ah.. Thought it was kinda obvious. I.. Uh..." He sounded rather nervous. "Well, since we have to put the sword back tomorrow, I just wanna get it off my chest. I-"

He was abruptly cut off for some reason, and for a few seconds there was silence from them both. The next he heard was Blue whispering quietly, "You don't have to say it, Red- I know. I feel the same too." Nothing was said for a long few moments after that, and Green was going to get up and leave. He froze though as Blue piped up again, "Hey, now- why're you crying?"

"C-cuz..." Red whimpered softly, sounding so pathetic that Green was starting to get a bit emotional himself. "There's so much left to do- there's s-so much I wanted to see before my time was up, I just... It's not fair! I want to live, Blue! We've done so much for Hyrule, for the princess, for the goddesses, why do we have to forfeit our lives after all that?! I-I want to keep living..." He trailed off, his words muddled with shuddering sobs. "I-I'm so scared, Blue..."

"Shh, Red..." Blue's voice was beginning to falter, too. "I'm scared too. We've just gotta.. just gotta face it, though."

"This isn't an enemy! It's not something we can fight, or defend against, or deal with!" Red protested, hiccups punctuating every few words. "It's gonna happen whether we want it to or not! We're gonna die!"

"We don't know that we're gonna die, we don't know what's gonna happen," Blue tried to pacify him, sounding worried. "It might not even merge us back into one- we might be too changed for that."

"He pulled the sword and he split, when he puts it back it's gonna reverse!" Red insisted, nearly wailing. "We didn't exist before he drew the sword, there's no way we're gonna after he returns it!" Blue, privately agreeing with him, had no comfort to offer, and soon Red's sobs were muffled (presumably in Blue's shoulder.) "I don't wanna die..." He repeated in a weak voice, unstable.

"No matter what happens, we're in it together," Blue stated quietly, and it shocked Green to his core to hear the telltale wavering of the voice that signaled Blue was on the verge of tears, too. "You, me, and Vio- we're in it till the end." It hurt Green to have Blue exclude him like that- he knew that, while the statement applied primarily to the moment, that was Blue's true feeling on the group dynamic. Blue had not felt as close to Green as to Vio (clearly not nearly as close as to Red, as Green had just witnessed.) He often made it known through their rivalry, and even though Green could understand where Blue was coming from in this situation, it still stung to hear him say it. He didn't want to hear any more- he stood up, turning his back to the others and heading to his room.

He sprawled out on top of his bed, hiding his face in his arms. If they thought for one _minute_ that this had been an easy choice for him to make, they were wrong. _Could I live with myself if this went south? What if we put the sword back and, somehow, they're still around? What if it does kill them? Would I be able to handle their deaths on my conscience? I'd be killing a part of myself. Is this worth the risk?_ So many questions were spinning through his head, he legitimately could not see straight for the headache that had built up.

"Goddesses above, please let this end okay..." He muttered a quiet prayer to the three, pressing his face into his pillow. "I don't.. I don't know what I'd do if they were killed because of a choice I made..." In a selfish way, he wished that the sword had somehow broken, or one of their blades had gone missing so there was no way to return them all. Or even if one of them had been killed during the adventu- _no no don't even think that. It's too real, the concept of them dying, I can't let myself think about it that way!_ Green gave a frustrated groan, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

What would he say, when the time came to do the deed? He had to say something, just in case this was really his last time seeing the others. No matter what he thought up, though, it would all sound hollow and worthless- at least to Blue, he figured. Red would be crying the whole time, undoubtedly, and he'd be surprised if he heard more than ten words from Vio. He was prepared for an earful from Blue. Perking up for a moment, he strained his ears as he heard voices- Vio had re-entered the house, and must have been talking with Red and Blue.

He couldn't hear all that was going on, but from the tones of voices, he inferred that Vio was calm, Red was mostly stable, and Blue was once again guarded. He let his face fall into the pillow again, knowing that Vio would be arriving in their shared room in minutes. It didn't take him long to appear- he entered the room, shutting the door behind himself and going to sit down on his bed near the other wall. "Hello, Green."

"Hey, Vi," Green mumbled, rolling onto his side to face the other Link. "How're they holding up?"

"Red is no doubt going to be sobbing most of the day tomorrow," Vio sighed, rubbing his forehead. "And Blue looked like a cornered bear."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Green sighed. "Vio... Please give me an honest answer- am I right? Is it the right thing to put the sword back?"

Vio heaved a deep sigh, shutting his eyes. "We've been through this before, Green. You know where I stand on it."

"Please."

"I think it is the only answer, yes." Vio said slowly. "Am I necessarily happy about it? No."

"You're taking it better than the others are." Green pointed out.

"That's because I know worrying and fretting about it will not change the outcome," Vio frowned. "And if these are to be my final hours in this realm, I do not wish to spend them in sadness."

"I wish I could have your attitude about this, Vi."

"Well, perhaps after we merge together again, you will." Vio muttered wryly. This was met with silence from Green. "That was a joke, you realize."

"I got that."

"Things must truly be in dire straits if I am the sole person left with a sense of humor."

This brought a small chuckle from Green. "Man, you're not kidding." He sighed. "This... is a slightly off-topic thing to ask about, but... I heard Blue and Red talking earlier, and I kinda think I accidentally overheard something rather private."

"Then why would you tell me?"

"I wasn't gonna!" Green shook his head. "I was just wondering if you'd picked up on-"

"I have picked up on them, yes. It's been clear to me for a while now."

"... So I'm the last one to learn about this?"

"Yes."

"Damn." Green gave a little grin, turning his gaze to the ceiling. "Makes me feel even worse about putting the blade back, having to tear that away from them."

"It's not your fault they waited so long to 'fess up about it," Vio pointed out.

"But it is my fault I'll be replacing the sword."

"Yeah, well..." Vio folded his arms behind his head, lying back on his bed. "I suppose there's no use in speculating about what's gonna happen- it won't change the outcome."

"So you're not afraid that it may mean the end of you?"

"I would rather it mean the end of me than it meaning I become trapped within your mind." Vio corrected. "In this scenario, I do not fear death."

"Does that have anything to do with Shadow?" Green dared to ask. When he was met with silence, he glanced back over to discover Vio had wordlessly turned his back on him. "... Forget I brought it up."

"I think I am going to rest for a bit." Vio stated curtly. It was clear that the topic, even after time had passed, was still a sensitive one for him. "Goodnight, Green."

It was a long, uncomfortable night for Green, the only sounds being both his and Vio's breathing, and the soft sound of crying from the room next door.

* * *

The day of them putting back the sword will be the next bit I put up hehehe eue I don't have all of that done to my satisfaction yet, so it'll be another day or so in coming.

Uploading this bit now for my friend Emi's birthdaaaaaaaay C: I hope you've had a good day so far! (And sorry if this doesn't seem as directly shippy as I'd originally intended it to be, it'll get better hehehehe hope you enjoy reading about sad things happening eue)

But yeah! R&R if you'd like, and thanks for reading! C:

~Artimus-Maora


	2. Chapter 2-

Short-ish story dealing with what might have happened if Green had put the sword back. I normally write with the Four Swords assuming they didn't put back the blade, but I was inspired by a friend to write a sadder ending. Note, this will NOT be a happy ending. Very light shipping if you look at it as such.

* * *

Breakfast was a solemn affair. None of them looked well-rested at all- the circles under Vio's eyes were darker than normal, and Red's eyes were puffy and ruddy as well. Everyone was oddly silent; no chatter came from Red, no banter between Blue and Green. Everyone was tense and nervous for their own reasons, wrapped up in their thoughts. Red was barely managing to keep his composure, biting his lip and frequently glancing to Blue. Blue didn't offer any verbal condolences, but for the entirety of the meal his left hand and Red's right were not seen above the small square table.

The silence had to give eventually. Green was, of course, the one to break it after he'd cleared away the dishes and set them aside to be washed. "So, uh... I guess whenever we're all ready, we can... go." He didn't flinch back as Blue shot him a flat look, muted anger hidden in his gaze. Red didn't even look at him, while Vio nodded.

"I think we need a few minutes to ourselves," Vio stated quietly- without further ado Blue stood up abruptly, exiting the room. Red followed him swiftly, and in a moment the sound of their door shutting echoed from upstairs. Vio rose to his feet as well, quietly exiting to the living room to curl up in 'his' armchair with the book he was nearly finished reading. It appeared he had left only a chapter or so unread, and at almost the exact time he closed his novel with a soft sigh, Red and Blue reappeared hand in hand.

Green looked around at the now-assembled team. "Well... Shall we?"

"We may as well." Vio stated, to which Red and Blue nodded.

"Yeah."

"Let's get it over with."

"Okay- come on, guys." Pretending he didn't pick up on the heavy atmosphere, Green turned his back on the others and led them all out the door. It was a silent walk to the shrine of the Four Sword, and at once it both seemed like an eternity's trip and the blink of an eye. But they were there- all four of them, blades in hand, standing before the empty pedestal.

"Shouldn't we have brought Zelda with us?" Vio frowned, gaze fixed on the stone.

"Ah... She should be here. She mentioned she wanted to be with us when we put it back..." Green glanced around the surrounding area, trying to discern whether or not Zelda would be joining them. "Give her a couple minutes."

"Whatever." Blue went to sit down on the steps leading up to the shrine, Red following close behind him. Sitting close to Blue and hugging his arm, Red was oddly dry-eyed at the moment; it likely hadn't hit him yet. The silence stretched for minutes, and when no one appeared, Green was unhappily forced to concede that the princess would not be there.

"I... I guess we're gonna have to go on without her, then," He sighed reluctantly. As if by a magnet, a force seemed to pull them all together, and the four Links gathered around the stone on the ground. All of them drew their swords, glancing nervously at one another.

"Well..." Green decided it was his place to speak up, looking to his other selves apprehensively. "We don't know what's gonna happen when we try this. On the off chance that nothing happens and we remain our separate, normal selves, then thank the goddesses we don't have to go through this. But if it turns out that we _do_ end up returning into one person, and the three of you aren't gonna be with me anymore... I just wanna say thank you."

"You guys have been more than allies to me. You've- you've been like brothers." Green gave a wan smile. "I don't know where I would have been without you guys; we make one hell of a team when we put our minds to it. You guys helped me grow, as a person- we've all grown." He glanced around at the assembled group. Red was, predictably, on the verge of tears, holding onto Blue's free hand with a death grip as he struggled not to cry. The blue Link was, also predictably, maintaining as stony and impassive of a demeanor as was humanly possible- Green was well aware of the fact that it masked whatever was going on inside, though, and that inside he was likely just as unstable as Red. Vio appeared as calm and unperturbed as ever, staring at Green with a sort of patient expectancy.

"Vi... I don't think I've ever met anybody as unshakable and intelligent as you. Even when I thought we were done for, or there was no way forward, you always came through and found the impossible solution. I know for a fact that you've saved us all more times than we can count. You were the one that had to make the hard decisions," Green kept speaking as he noticed Vio's expression cloud at this, gaze falling to his shadow and the ground, "and everything you did has always had a reason. I'm glad you were never my enemy, that's for sure. We'd never have prevailed without you on our side."

This was met with a small smile from the violet Link, one which Greed returned before shifting his focus to Red. "Red- I know you think sometimes that you're not as strong as we are, but that's not true. You have the strongest heart out of us all, and that's the most important thing in the world. You motivated us to keep going and fighting, even when our morale was low, and I think I speak for all of us when I say your cooking has been a real treat." A few quiet chuckles came from the assembled group.

"You, out of all of us, have grown the most. You've become a million times stronger than you think you have, and at times you've been the only thing that's held us all together. Not gonna lie and say we've all gotten along just fine, but when we had our issues, 98% of the time you were instrumental in resolving them." Red gave a small giggle, looking to be on the verge of weeping. "And we all know who gives the best hugs out of us four. Thanks for keeping our heads and our hearts in line, Red."

"I love you guys," Red sniffled, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm gonna miss you so much!"

"We're gonna miss you too, Red." Green nodded, hesitating a moment before turning to Blue. "Blue. I know a lot of the time we don't see eye to eye; I'm sorry that we spent a lot of our time fighting one another. But you're a born fighter- you were the strength of our group. I don't think I've ever seen you back down from a challenge, and to that end I don't think I've seen a challenge best you. You're our spirit, our skill, and our power- everything a knight should have. I gotta say, I never liked picking fights with you or sparring against you- I was always pretty sure I'd end up losing." He gave a small chuckle, and despite himself, Blue grinned sheepishly.

"And yet, despite all your huff and gruff and tough-guy grump, I know there's nobody in the world that cares more about any of us. You're like the big brother I never had... You're willing to kick my ass if I need it, but if someone else tries to kick my ass first, Din help them. I think I heard _someone_," He shot a look at Red, who grinned and hid his face, "describe you more than once as a teddy bear? That works- I'd have to more call you a mama bear, though. You're damn scary when you're fighting to defend one of us." This brought a snort of amusement even from Blue, and outright chuckling from the others. "I know you don't agree with... this," Green went back to a serious tone, "cuz it might bring harm onto some or all of us, and it's not harm you can protect us from. But you should know better than any of us what a hero's duty requires- it requires sacrifice."

The group became quite sober once more. "To all of you- I pray to the goddesses above that this ends well, and if it has to end, it ends quickly and painlessly. But I don't know what's gonna happen. If something goes south... From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry. And I'll have forever to make it up to y'all in the Sacred Realm someday." His litany finished, Green raised his sword. "Let's do it."

All four of them moved forward as one, jabbing their blades downward at the pedestal. As the blade drew near to the stone, it seemed to merge back into one sword- but when it reformed whole, four Links still stood around it. There was a moment of complete silence and shock. "... Is this for real?" Green whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

"You're kidding me- it didn't merge us back?" Blue looked stunned out of his mind, and Red began to cry tears of happiness.

"I can't believe it! Blue, Vio, we're okay!" Red joyfully hugged Blue around the neck, beaming. "... Vio?"

Not a sound had they heard from the violet Link, and Green felt his astonishment and happiness begin to rapidly dissipate as he saw Vio standing stock still, eyes wide and glassed over. "Vio... Are you okay?"

"I'm.. Having difficulty breathing..." Vio slowly raised a hand to his breast, unexpectedly pitching forward and collapsing to his knees. The other three rushed to him, panicked.

"Vio?!"

"Guys..." Vio's breathing sounded labored as he gritted his teeth. "I think... The magic of the sword... It's coming undone.. My.. Body is... Shutting down..." he grimaced, raising a hand to his neck.

"No... Vio!" Green knelt next to him, intending to somehow try to help, but unexpectedly Blue shoved past him and got there first.

Red had begun to cry heavily, and Blue appeared to be trying to shift Vio into a position he could breathe more easily in. "Hang in there, Vi, just keep breathing! Deep breaths..."

Vio's expression contorted into one of extreme pain, and he feebly clutched his middle. "My.. whole stomach feels... not good.."

"It's gonna be fine, Vio, it's gonna be fine," Blue was doggedly trying to help him somehow; it was unsure whether he was reassuring Vio or himself.

"Blue..." Vio raised a hand in a commanding 'halt' gesture, and Blue fell silent immediately. "There's nothing we can do..." He fixed his gaze solidly on Green, then Blue, then Red. "We're all... we're all going to..." He coughed violently, shaking, with a pained expression on his face.

"This is gonna happen to us soon," Blue whispered, gripping Vio's sleeve tightly. "G-gods dammit..."

Red was starting to cry horribly, sinking down on Vio's other side. "N-no, Vio..." He whimpered, watching in terror as Vio took a deep, rattling breath that seemed to cause him a great deal of pain. "Vio!" The other Link had lapsed into unconsciousness, chest barely rising and falling at all. "No, no, wake up!" As Red panicked over trying to bring Vio around again, Blue abruptly stood up and grabbed Green by the collar of his tunic.

"Do something! He's dying!"

"What do you want me to do?!" Green protested with a yelp, frightened by the ferocity of the grip Blue had on him. "I can't just-"

"B-Blue, I can't breathe," Red piped up in a terrified voice, having fallen to his hands and knees next to what was now Vio's unmoving body. "I-I can't breathe, h-help!"

"Red!" Blue completely abandoned Green, dropping to the ground in fright and hastily gathering Red into his arms. There was... no way he was gonna be able to save him. "R-Red, just keep breathing.. in and out, just.. keep breathing..."

"I c-can't, Blue," Red whimpered, gripping Blue's tunic tightly as he sobbed. "M-my stomach is h-hurting, it's hurting r-really bad..."

Blue's head snapped up as he glared at Green, but in his glare there was a hard streak of panic. "Take up the sword again! Pull the sword before he dies!"

Green sprinted back to the pedestal of the Four Sword, giving a mighty yank on the handgrip- but the sword didn't budge. Perhaps it was because one of their number had already passed on, or because it had finally met its resting place and knew there was no threat that required it to be drawn, but one way or another the sword would not pull free. "I can't!"

"Dammit, Green, you have to!" There were furious tears welling up in Blue's eyes, spilling over as Green turned his back on the sword. "You're killing us!" Green tried to kneel near him and help ease Red's suffering somehow, but Blue angrily held him away. "Don't!"

"Blue, you know I'm not gonna hurt him! I just want to-"

"No!" He'd never heard Blue cry before, but right now the azure Link's composure was shattered. "It's your fault we're gonna die!"

"It's not my fault! None of us knew what was gonna happen, we all accepted that risk-"

"We never accepted it! We never wanted to die!" Blue yelled, clutching Red to him as the crimson Link gave a wail of pain. "We never wanted this!"

"Blue, i-it was out of my control, we had to put it back!" Green protested, his reasoning sounding worthless when Red's agonized sobs drowned him out. "You know we did!"

"That's easy for you to say! Y-You're not the one who's gonna stop existing!"

"You think this isn't killing me too?!" Green snapped, enraged that Blue could possibly think he wasn't feeling this every bit as much as he was.

"No, it isn't!" Blue roared- if it hadn't been for Red, and for the own difficulties he was beginning to experience with his breathing, Blue would've lunged at Green. "You.. I can't forgive you for this!" His tirade at Green was cut off abruptly as Red shrieked in pain, clutching Blue.

"B-Blue, it hurts so bad! I c-can't... I can't take it..." He whimpered, burying his face in Blue's middle. "I... can't..."

"Red, please don't.. say things like that.. come on," Blue pleaded, fighting to keep his voice level even as it became hard to breathe. "Please, stay... awake, Red, I'd- c'mon, Red, open your eyes..! Please!" Blue gripped his shoulders tightly, tears streaming from his eyes and dripping down his face as he frantically tried to rouse him. "_Red_!"

He curled up around the crimson Link, biting his lip in an attempt to control his tears, before glaring hatefully up at Green. Green, for his part, was horrified, and felt like his whole world was falling apart. _They're dying, they're __**dying! **_"I hate you!"

How childish- what a childish thing to say. But then again, they were only children. Children who had barely had a year of life, only a fraction of that spent not in combat. Children who had been given a taste of the joys life had to offer, and who were denied permanent access. Violently being taken away right before Green's eyes. Parts of _himself_ being violently torn away.

"B-Blue, you know I didn't want- I never wanted for you all to die! Not like this!" Green knelt in front of the weeping Link still clutching Red's body, trying to reach out to him in his last moments. "I-I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry won't bring them back!" Blue screamed, and even though the air was rapidly leaving his lungs, his voice still held the abnormal force it did when he was angry. Blue seemed to be clinging to life for a few moments yet, through force of will or force of hate. "Sorry won't bring any of us back! It won't fix this!"

"Neither will hating me for something I had no control of!"

"You made us put it back- we'd still.. Be alive!"

"Blue, I... What do you want me to say?! I'm sorry!"

"You said you.. knew we might die! ...Didn't you.. hah... think you'd regret.. killing us?!" Blue had braced a hand on the ground to remain upright, an agonized expression contorting his face.

"Of course I knew I'd feel remorse if that happened!" Green yelled, trying again to reach out to Blue and ease his suffering. _I'm not killing you, it's not my fault! _"Please, Blue, understand! I don't want you to die hating me.."

"Well it's too fuckin' bad, isn't it?" Blue growled bitterly, his strength at last giving out. He collapsed, curling up over Red's motionless body. He turned his face away from Green, vainly trying to hide his tears and his fear. "I don't... give a damn 'bout.. what you.."

"Blue!" Green ignored the other Link's attempt to shy away, hugging his only remaining brother tightly about the shoulders. He ignored the irritated hiss the other gave, starting to tremble as he felt Blue's resistance waning. "I'm.. I-I'm so sorry..." No retort came from the fiery Link for several seconds, and it soon became clear that none ever would.

Green slowly sat up, glancing around in numb horror at the bodies of his brothers, strewn around him. This.. this had been a mistake. He didn't even register that his eyes were wet, tears streaming down his face silently. He stared down at Blue, Red, and Vio, his throat feeling constricted. "... B-because of me, they're... they're dead..." Green whispered numbly, talking to no one. "I was the leader- I spent our whole quest trying to watch out for everyone, trying to make choices that would keep them out of harm's way. Now that we finally made it, I.. I lead them to their demise." They were like his brothers! He killed his brothers!

"I feel so guilty- I..." Already the loneliness weighed heavily on him- whenever he paused after a statement, usually one or more of the others would fill in. A grumpy grumble from Blue, a helpful hint from Red, or a cryptic comment from Vio... Nothing. There was nothing now but his own thoughts. He'd vainly hoped that perhaps, by some small chance, the others would have returned to perhaps being a part of his subconscious. (He would have had to deal with a major headache from Blue, but that he was prepared to deal with.) He felt nothing; if anything, there were three gaping holes where the others had been. "They started out as a part of me, and then split off... I-I should have come away from this journey feeling like I've grown, but.. I feel broken."

His gaze lingered on each of their faces- in their dying moments, each of them had been true to their character. Vio's expression was troubled but resigned- he looked as though he had calmly accepted the fact that he was dying. Red's face was tear-streaked and openly emotional; he'd never hidden how he felt. Blue was defensive, angry, and curled around the others- protective. Try as he might, though, he could not protect them against this.

"I-I'm so, so sorry..." Green whispered, curling up into a ball with his legs to his chest and his forehead on his knees, huddling close to the bodies of his brothers. He squeezed his eyes shut, deeply saddened and not at all ashamed as he felt tears gathering and spilling from his eyes. _What a horrible leader I am... _

He remembered, as a young kid, how often he'd lamented being an only child; he'd filled his hours of play by spending time with Zelda, yes, but like any young boy he'd wished desperately for peers more like him. He'd been eager to become a knight in order that he'd finally have some guy friends around his age and skill level. He reflected subconsciously that pulling the Four Sword had given him everything he'd wanted.

_And I threw that away- I gave them up..._

Gre-... _Link, I'm back to being Link now- _Link scooted closer over to his brothers, hesitating before leaning against them. During particularly stressful or tiring times during their journey, when they were all tired beyond belief and desperately in need of sleep, the four of them had developed the practice of putting aside their quarrels for the day and all falling asleep together in a heap. Blue usually leaned against a tree, with Red either curling up in his lap or resting with his head and shoulders there and his arms around Blue's waist. Then Green would settle down beside Blue, both of them leaning into one another, while Vio stretched out wherever he deemed comfortable- Green's lap, on top of Red and Blue, across Blue and Green, or anyplace else he could fit into the pile. It had always been a warm, comforting affair; although, they would rarely talk about it except that morning to joke lightheartedly that "you cut off circulation in my leg all night" or "my arm went numb after like ten minutes like that" or sometimes "you make a really good pillow, you know that?"

Link wiped at his eyes, shivering. He'd never have that 'd never come downstairs in the morning to see the others halfway through making breakfast, bantering and poking fun at one another. He'd never creep downstairs late at night to find Vio curled up near the light of a candle, so engrossed in a novel that he wouldn't even notice Green slink past. He'd never push himself to the limit sparring against Blue, wearing himself out completely and then taking a dunk in the lake with him afterward. Never again would he spend hours at a time in the kitchen with Red, talking with him about anything and everything while the other boy prepared food and desserts. He'd never have that deep bond of always knowing someone else had his back, not even needing to check to see that he and his team were fighting in almost perfect unison. After finally becoming so accustomed to being part of a team, he was alone.

"I'm.. so sorry.." He curled up on top of the others; Vio lying cold on his back, Red slumped into Blue's lap, Blue curled over both Red and Vio, and Link huddled up on Blue's shoulder. They all already felt so cold... He hid his face in the fabric of Blue's tunic, shaking as tears leaked from his eyes. He missed them already. He missed them so much.

He shouldn't have done that...

* * *

no happy ending for us :c

little dismal, eh? oh well

thank you for reading! R&R always appreciated 3

~Artimus-Maora


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